In mathematical logic, a theory is categorical if it has exactly one model (up to isomorphism).[a] Such a theory can be viewed as defining its model, uniquely characterizing the model's structure.
In first-order logic, only theories with a finite model can be categorical. Higher-order logic contains categorical theories with an infinite model. For example, the second-order Peano axioms are categorical, having a unique model whose domain is the set of natural numbers
In model theory, the notion of a categorical theory is refined with respect to cardinality. A theory is κ-categorical (or categorical in κ) if it has exactly one model of cardinality κ up to isomorphism. Morley's categoricity theorem is a theorem of Michael D. Morley (1965) stating that if a first-order theory in a countable language is categorical in some uncountable cardinality, then it is categorical in all uncountable cardinalities.
Saharon Shelah (1974) extended Morley's theorem to uncountable languages: if the language has cardinality κ and a theory is categorical in some uncountable cardinal greater than or equal to κ then it is categorical in all cardinalities greater than κ.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).